Under the plan, Na San airport, approximately 20km from Son La city, will become a 4C civilian airport under the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and a class I military airport.
This domestic airport is designed to have a capacity of carrying 900,000 passengers per year by 2020 and about 1.5 million passengers per year by 2030.
The passenger terminal will cover an area of roughly 6,750 m2 in 2020, which will be expanded to 9,000 m2 by 2030. The runway will be 2,600m long and 45m wide, becoming open to aircraft A320/321 and other equivalent large aircrafts for use.
The total area of the airport including supporting facilities will be approximately 498 ha by 2030.
Na San airport is located at Mai Son district, Son La province in the northwest of Vietnam. The airport lies on the Highway 6, about 20km southward from Son La city, 180km southward from Dien Bien Phu airport and 300km from Hanoi.
It was temporarily closed for upgrade in 2004 but has yet to be opened again.
